Bangladesh Freshwater Prawn Prices Crash

Bangladesh

Freshwater Prawn Prices Crash

Freshwater prawn farmers are suffering from massive losses in the wake of falling prices and sluggish demand. The price of the prawns, locally known as galda, dropped 30 percent from last year to $6.10–$6.71 a kilogram, said growers and processors in Bagerhat.

“We are facing huge losses,” said prawn farmer Chinmoy Das, who invested about $3,659 to grow prawns in nearly two acres of ponds. His cost of production is $7.32 per kilogram. “Some traders don’t even want to buy prawns,” he said, while facing a loss of more than $2,439 this year.

Farmers and market operators said the price of freshwater shrimp has been on the downturn for nearly two years because of falling demand for prawns in the United Kingdom, one of Bangladesh’s major markets. In addition, demand in the UK has declined because of increasing import costs associated with a weakening pound, following Brexit, said Shoyeb Mahmud, general manager of Khulna-based Jahanabad Seafood, Ltd., an exporter of prawns, shrimp and seafood.